Wine and beer?

[sam111]

For wine if I had cranberries , grapes , strawberrry ,...etc juices would all I have to do is add a packet of active yeast to make wine or alcoholed fruit drinks?

And If so how long after adding the yeast to the fruit juice will it take. And should it be refrigerated ?

For beer it seems like the same process a round about with barely,hops, and some water

The only harder alcohols one would need more things for is the harder alcohol
like vodka, brandy (distilled wine),gin,whisky ,.... etc since these are more concentrated since they are just really the distillation of the more simple ones usually

 

[GotGarlic]

It's a little more involved than that. Check this out: How to Make Wine at Home

 

[Steve Kroll]

I don't make beer, but I make about 150 gallons of wine every year, and have been doing so for quite awhile now. I'm also currently the president of the largest and oldest home winemaking club in Minnesota.

The process is a little more complicated than what you describe. Normally you make a "must" using the desired fruits. Often this involves crushing or chopping the fruit and macerating the mixture to extract the juice. You then have to balance acids and sugar so that everything is within a certain range. Then you add the yeast. After 1 to 4 weeks of fermentation (the actual amount of time depends on the temperature, sugar level, and yeast strain), you remove the fruit pulp and let the wine sit for several months to clear.

If you are interested, there are quite a few books and web sites that will help you along. Let me know if you would like me to post a few. If you're just looking for some recipes now, Jack Keller runs a home winemaking web site.

winemaking: winemaking recipes

Jack's a little politically opinionated at times, but he gives pretty good advice overall.

I also posted a thread here sometime ago showing how I make grape wine.

Here's the link:
http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f146/winemaking-fun-82765.html

 

[Steve Kroll]

It's a little more involved than that. Check this out: How to Make Wine at Home

No offense, but that's a pretty poor excuse for a recipe.

 

[CharlieD]

Steve, how much space, how big of a room/storage does one need to start making wine? Maybe not as much as you do, maybe for starter just 10 gallons or so?

 

[Steve Kroll]

Charlie, I know people who live in apartments and just have a little space set aside in a closet, basement, or spare bedroom for the containers. Most of the real work, like bottling and so on, can be done in the kitchen.

I have a 12 x 6 foot area set up in the basement. That's where I store and age everything. So not a real big space.

 

[CharlieD]

I have been wanting to start making my own wine for a while, but problem is I really do not have a lot of space. My kitchen is long but extremely nerrow. Just enough space to walk by the cabinets. Even refrigerator doesn't open completely becasue of the wall.

 

[GotGarlic]

No offense, but that's a pretty poor excuse for a recipe.

None taken I have no experience with wine-making, so I googled it. Should have waited for you to come along

 

[Steve Kroll]

No worries. When I saw the first ingredient on the list was "lots and lots of wine grapes", I got scared.

 

[Addie]

No worries. When I saw the first ingredient on the list was "lots and lots of wine grapes", I got scared.

Lots and lots of wine grapes? Is that like Concord grapes, or whatever kind they use? I don't know a thing about wine or the making of it, but I can't blame you for being scared. If that is a measurment then lots and lots of flour for bread making, more than you would use for dusting the bottom on a cake pan should do. After all they both require yeast.

 

[Caslon]

Lots and lots of wine grapes? Is that like Concord grapes, or whatever kind they use?

Not to tangent out but...mmmm yum, Concord grapes. Black grapes are my new fave snack fruit. They aren't as tart as red and green grapes are. They're very seasonal it seems. US supermarkets import them from Chile when out of season here in the US. I bought two bags two weeks apart and now they're out until June, I'm told (short growing season). My fave snack is concord grapes with cheese slices and some pretzel sticks and a few thin salami slices and maybe a green onion on a small plate.

 

[Hoot]

Hard to beat scuppernongs for homemade wine, jelly, jam, or just plain eating. JMHO. The local wild grapes....we call them bullous (sp?), are mighty good too.

 

[Hoot]

Google informs me that the wild grapes I was referring to are called muscadines.

 

[Steve Kroll]

I've had muscadine wine. It's good. If you live in an area where they grow (mostly the southeastern US) you are lucky, Hoot.

 

[buckytom]

I don't make beer, but I make about 150 gallons of wine every year,

my god. what do you do with nearly 93 gallons of wine every year?

that's almost 470 bottles of wine!

 

[Kylie1969]

Steve drinks a lot

 

[Steve Kroll]

my god. what do you do with nearly 93 gallons of wine every year?

that's almost 470 bottles of wine!

My wife and I drink somewhere around 40-50 gallons (200 bottles) between the two of us a year. Sounds like a lot, but only averages out to around one glass a night during the week, and a couple on weekends.

About 40-50 gallons of what I make goes to my wife's brother and sister. They pay for all the raw ingredients and bottles, I make the wine, and we have a big bottling party every year around Easter.

I also give quite a bit away as gifts, enter it in competitions, or sometimes use it as barter for goods/services. Over the years we've put in an outdoor patio, had landscaping work done, and, this year, are putting in a sprinkler system. All paid in part through homemade wine.

And whatever's left gets socked away for the long term. It's my liquid retirement fund. If stored properly, wine will last 10 to 20 years or longer.

 

[buckytom]

i've read there's a whole science behind which wines age well, and which are to be consumed within a year or two.

my neighbor makes about 50 gallons of red wine every year, and then lets the leftover mashed skins ferment some more and then sistills them.

his wine is ok, but his grappa is fire water.

 

[Steve Kroll]

Definitely some science there. Oxygen and high or fluctuating temps are wine's worst enemies. Luckily, red wines contain tannin, anthocyanins, and sulfur dioxide, all of which are natural antioxidants. If stored at 50-60 degrees, a full bodied red wine can last quite a long time.

White wines also contain sulphites (contrary to popular belief, they contain about 30% more than red wine, which blows a hole in that theory that sulphites are the cause of "red wine headache"). But they have little tannin or anthocyanins. Most white wines are drinkable for 2 or 3 years past the vintage date. Oak-aged whites, like Chardonnay and some Sauvignon Blancs, get a boost of tannin from the barrels, which helps them age a little longer - anywhere from 5 to 7 years. If you store white wines at 50 degrees they will last longer.

 

[Steve Kroll]

And before anyone mentions "red wine headaches", the current thinking is that histamines play more of a role than sulphites. If you are prone to getting headaches from red wine, try taking half a benadryl with a big glass of water before drinking red wine and see if that helps. Don't take large doses of benadryl with wine, though, as it's a mild depressant and the effects can be cumulative when combined with alcohol.